Wishes Can Come True
by Phoebe Cyane
Summary: When Gabrielle finds an enchanted parchment, anything is possible. UPDATE: Chapters have been put together and made longer.
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they all belong to REN pictures and the creators of Xena. This story takes place around the beginning of the fourth season, after Hope was killed._   
  
"Xena...I'm really, really tired," Gabrielle complained. She leaned on her staff and stared at her friend with pleading eyes.   
"All right, we can rest, but only for a little while, we've got a long way to go," she told Gabrielle. The bard nodded and flopped down on the ground. "Gabrielle...what are you doing?" Xena asked.   
"Xena! You said we could rest! Now what--," Gabrielle started, but Xena cut her off.   
"Yeah, over there." She grinned and pointed to a lake ahead of them.   
"Oh," Gabrielle mumbled, and Xena laughed. "It's not funny, Xena." The Warrior Princess stopped and tried to hold back her laughter as her friend got up tiredly and walked over to the lake, practically dragging herself. Xena followed and smiled when Gabrielle sat down once again, and dropped her staff down beside her. She then pulled out a scroll and began writing on it.   
"What are you writing?" Xena asked with curiosity. "Another one of our 'adventures'?"   
"No, I was thinking of just, oh I don't know, maybe writing about someone I know," she stated.   
"Really? Like who?" Xena asked.   
"I was thinking maybe Ephiny, or Aphrodite...you know, someone I know pretty well," she answered. Xena flashed her a 'haha, that's very funny' look. This time, Gabrielle laughed. Then she put away her scroll and relaxed on the grass. Suddenly, Xena jumped up. Gabrielle looked slightly startled as she watched her friend. "What is it?" she asked. Xena looked back at Gabrielle, a concerned look on her face.   
"Get your staff ready, Gabrielle...," she instructed. Gabrielle grabbed the stick and hopped up on her feet. Then, a handful of thugs jumped out of the bushes and ran at the two women, swords drawn. "Oh, is it playtime already?" Xena smirked, drew her sword, and twirled it around in her hand before attacking. Gabrielle swung her staff at two of the men, hitting them in the head, in the stomach, and finally a crack at the shins, sending them to the ground. Xena smiled at her companion, and continued to beat the other four senseless, knocking three on the ground and one unconscious. The men all got up on their feet and ran away, yelling comments like 'she's dangerous,' and 'let's get out of here!' Gabrielle scoffed and lowered her staff, as Xena re-sheathed her sword.   
"Who were they?" she asked Xena.   
"Just your every day warriors, hoping to kill me and gain a profit, etc...you know the gist." Gabrielle nodded. 

Gabrielle picked up a few branches off the ground and brought them back to the campsite. She set them down in front of Xena, and the warrior princess started a fire for them to cook their supper over, as well as keep warm.   
"I'm going to go for a swim," Gabrielle told her friend. Xena nodded, not taking her eyes off the firewood. Gabrielle unlaced her top and leaped into the water, making a splash. She went under the water, her eyes open, when a small piece of parchment caught her eye. Gabrielle swam over to it and snatched it up in her hand. She quickly swam back up in need of air. "Ack!" she gasped, when she reached the surface. Then she held up the parchment in front of her, squinting her eyes. She could barely make out the writing. Hmmm...it looks like some sort of incantation, she thought, staring at the ink. The bard then began to read it softly to herself. "Huh," she muttered, when she had finished reciting, "nothing. So much for that!" Gabrielle tossed the parchment behind her and swam over to the grass. "Xena?" she said, looking around for her friend. But Xena was nowhere in sight. "Xena!" she finally yelled, climbing out of the water and onto the grass. She was about to go looking for her when Xena suddenly appeared, holding up a rabbit in her fist.   
"Looky what I found," she told Gabrielle, grinning. Gabrielle rolled her eyes, and laughed softly. She laced her top back up and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders. Xena put the rabbit over the fire, and began to cook it.   
"I wish that was already cooked," Gabrielle mumbled. Suddenly, the rabbit glowed and a few seconds later, it was cooked.   
Xena looked at Gabrielle as if to ask 'what did you do?', and Gabrielle shrugged, still gawking at the cooked rabbit...   
"Gabrielle?! What happened?" Xena asked, looking confused.   
"I don't know! All I did is wish for it to be cooked, and..." she paused for a minute. "Wait a minute...maybe..." she trailed off, and then blurted out, "I wish I was dry," and in a few seconds time, she pulled the blanket off, and sure enough, she wasn't wet anymore. Gabrielle smiled at this, and turned to Xena.   
"So...what? You can wish for anything and it comes true?" Xena asked her. Gabrielle nodded and shrugged again.   
"Wait, Xena! It must have been that piece of parchment I found in the water! It was strange wording, but I did read it out loud to myself...maybe it contained the power of making wishes come true!" she exclaimed. Xena looked at her like she was crazy, but at the same time, she almost believed the bard.   
Xena finished her plate of cooked rabbit, and set it down beside the frying pan. She looked at Gabrielle, who had already finished, and was lying on her back, staring up at the night sky.   
"Xena, just think...I can wish for anything I want, and it comes true...just like that. Amazing."   
"Gabrielle, we don't know what kind of power has allowed you to do this, and it may be good, but we're not for sure, and until we are, I suggest you try not to make too many wishes, just to be safe," she told her friend. Gabrielle sat up and looked at Xena.   
"Yeah, okay, but I do want to make some wishes. You know, for good things," she said. Xena smiled, and spread out her bedroll next to Gabrielle. Then the bard turned to her friend.   
"Xena, what could I wish for? I mean, okay, so things aren't that bad, but maybe I could use my wishing to help out a few people in need. I could end hunger, I could end disease..." she trailed off staring at the sky, thinking of the time when Aphrodite enchanted her scroll, as Xena slowly drifted to sleep, grinning. Gabrielle looked at Xena. "Hey! Xena!" she exclaimed, and the warrior princess's eyes popped open.   
"What? Oh, yeah, wishing for food is good, Gabrielle..." she told her, half asleep, half awake.   
"I'm glad you were listening," Gabrielle mumbled sarcastically, as Xena fell back asleep. The blonde turned over on her side and drifted off to sleep, thinking about all the great things she could do with her 'power.' 

"Ack!" Gabrielle spat water out of her mouth. "Xena!" Xena smiled, tossed the waterskin at Gabrielle, and the bard caught it in both hands, glaring at her friend. The blonde got up, squinted at the sun as it was rising, and snatched her bedroll, rolling it up. She strapped it to Argo, then went back to sit on the grass, by the fire that Xena was cooking breakfast over, which was a couple of fish. Gabrielle opened her mouth to say something, but Xena put her finger to her friend's lips.   
"Gabrielle, no wishing. I want to cook this, you know, do it the regular way," she told her.   
"Fine," Gabrielle pouted, and Xena grinned.   
A few minutes later, the two women had finished their breakfast, and were cleaning up the breakfast dishes, such as the plates, and the frying pan. Gabrielle took a drink of water out of the waterskin, and handed it to Xena. The warrior princess repeated what Gabrielle had done, and then strapped it to Argo. She hopped up on the golden horse, and threw out a hand to offer Gabrielle a ride up with her. The bard took Xena's hand, and Xena pulled her up.   
"Yah!" Xena clicked her tongue, and Argo took off riding. They rode for miles, when the two reached a small village, clearly being raided by an army. Xena and Gabrielle both hopped off the horse, and jumped right into the fight. Xena drew her sword as Gabrielle got her staff ready. The bard attacked two warriors from behind, who were tugging on a defenseless young woman, only a bit younger than Gabrielle, who knocked them both on their behinds.   
"Go! Run!" she urged the girl, who did as she was told. The men got back up, but that didn't last long, seeing as how Gabrielle took a crack at their heads, knocking them both unconscious. She threw her staff behind her, still holding onto it, as it hit another man on the head, causing him to stagger backwards. Gabrielle hit him across the shins, and he fell to the dirt. 

Xena took another swing at the warrior, blocking his sword once again. They fought for another few minutes, when Xena caught him off guard and slashed her sword across his arm, leaving a deep flesh wound. He glared at her, and attempted to plunge his sword into Xena's heart. The warrior princess, always thinking three steps ahead, caught his sword in her hand and hit him over the head with the handle, knocking him out. She tossed his sword to the side, and headed over towards a man who was carrying a small child who was screaming, over his shoulder. Xena cleared her throat, and in response the man turned around and looked at Xena.   
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked him, and then knocked his feet out from under him, causing the child to fall, and Xena caught her just in time. She couldn't have been more than four years of age. The dark haired warrior handed the girl to an older woman who was sitting against one of the burning homes, who appeared to be the kid's mother. "Here. Take her into the woods, you'll be safe there, my horse will look after you," she told the woman, who nodded and ran with her daughter to where Argo was. Xena whistled at her horse, commanding Argo to lead the woman and the girl into the woods, and to look after them there. Argo did as she was told, and Xena turned back around, facing the battle before her.   
  



	2. Chapter 2

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Xena watched Gabrielle beat the warriors sensless with her staff. She then sensed someone behind her, and swung her sword around to block another, in which she hit it so hard that the man lost his balance and fell backwards on the ground. Xena smirked and kicked him in the shins with her left foot, causing him to groan.   
Ugh, Gabrielle thought, it's sure been awhile since these men have bathed. She scrunched up her nose while continually hitting two warriors in the stomach, making them weaker with each strike. Once she got them down, the bard looked around to realize that the battle was over with. All the conscious men were running back to where they had come from, leaving the unconscious ones to lie there. Gabrielle sneezed and walked over to Xena.   
"Who were they?" she asked.   
"Draco's men. You know, raid a village, get their supplies and weapons, of course."   
"Draco...figures," Gabrielle mumbled. "So what are we going to do?" she asked again.   
"We're going to confront him, and maybe, try to reason with him," she informed her friend.   
"Yeah, like that'll work..." Gabrielle said sarcastically, then paused, "Draco doesn't need reasoning, he needs a good kick in the head," she continued, leaning on her staff. Xena smiled.   
"Yep, maybe that, too," she suggested, and they both laughed, walking into the woods to find Argo. The two women spotted her standing there, next to the young mother and her daughter.   
"Thank you so much, for saving my daughter, and directing us both to safety, I am forever in your debt," the woman told Xena.   
"You don't owe me anything, just as long as you both are safe," the warrior princess assured her.   
"Are you sure?" the woman asked Xena, who replied with a nod. "Well, thank you again, but my daughter and I must be going on our way, we need to find someplace to stay until our village can be re-built," she informed the warrior princess. Gabrielle looked at Xena, and they were both thinking the same thing, in which the young bard nodded.   
"Well, why don't you let us come with you? It's pretty dangerous along these premises, you never know who's in these woods," Xena told the woman and her daughter with a hint of warning in her voice.   
"All right, thank you again."   
"Thank you, nice warrior lady," the small girl said in her little voice, and both Xena and Gabrielle grinned. The warrior directed the woman further into the woods, while Gabrielle stayed back a few feet.   
"Hey, is she coming with us?" the little girl asked Xena.   
"Well, actually, she's coming, she just needs to stay back because she needs to rest a minute, that's all," Xena told her, smiling. The small girl kept silent after that, and the dark-haired warrior assumed she had figured it out.   
Gabrielle stood there until the others had begun to walk a ways, and whispered,   
"I wish they would find an abandoned village as soon as they exit the woods." The blonde ran and caught up with the other three, and they all walked through the woods together.   
"By the way, my name is Evadne, and this is my daughter, Adonia," the woman declared.   
"This is Xena," Gabrielle announced, "and I'm Gabrielle."   
"Xena, the warrior princess?" Evadne asked, and Xena nodded. "Wow...it's nice to meet you," she said. Xena nodded again, and smiled. Then they all looked in front of them, and realized they had exited the woods, and approached a small village, which looked to be abandoned.   
"Well, looks like you've found a place to stay," Xena announced, and Evadne nodded.   
Gabrielle and Xena continued to walk along the ground, leaves crunching under their boots.   
"You know, I wish Joxer was here, then I could listen to him babble on, and at least then I'd get more joy out of just walking, because then I could tell him to shut up." No sooner had Gabrielle said this, Joxer suddenly appeared out of nowhere.   
"Hey, how'd I get here? Oh, hi Gabby. Hi Xena."   
"Joxer...," Xena uttered, and turned to the bard. "Gabrielle!" she whispered, "why did you do that?!"   
"I'm sorry, Xena, I'm not used to this, and by the time I realized I had actually said 'I wish', he was here."   
"Well, wish him back!" Gabrielle looked at Xena with a 'come on, have a heart,' look on her face, which made Xena grumble. "Fine!" This made Gabrielle giggle. 

"Okay, so what you're telling me, is that whatever you wish for, it'll come true, just like that?" Gabrielle had just finished explaining her new 'power' to Joxer, and she half-expected the questions to come rolling in.   
"Yes, Joxer."   
"Yeah, right. Like that could ever happen! All right then, if you're so sure, wish me up some dinars, wish girl!" Joxer sarcastically demanded. Gabrielle and Xena both exchanged looks, and rolled their eyes. Then the bard mumbled,   
"I wish you would just fall flat on your face," and no sooner had she said this, that the would-be hero slipped and fell face first into the dirt.   
"Hey, that doesn't--," Joxer cut himself off as he got to his feet, then continued, "that doesn't mean you have wishy powers. It was just a co--a coincidence," he told her, although in his mind he wasn't sure he believed the words that had come out of his own mouth. Frustrated with him, Gabrielle mumbled something else, and Joxer's armor transformed into a light pink nightie much like the one the blonde owned. Gabrielle and Xena found this incredibly hilarious, because it made them burst into giggles. "Hey, that was not funny! Wish it away, Gabby!" This caused the two friends to laugh even harder.   
"Oh, come on Joxer, you seemed to like wearing those kinds of things before," Xena exclaimed.   
"But--but--that was because I was under a spell, and so were you!" he cried. Then Xena looked at Gabrielle seriously, who glanced at Joxer, who was almost to tears. "I believe you, you have the power to wish, please, please take it off!"   
"Fine," the bard muttered, and wished the poor guy back his regular armor.   
"Thank you!"   
"Yeah, yeah, well, you looked like you were about to cry, anyway," Xena told him, obviously doing a poor job at trying to hide the fact that she was trying not to start laughing again.   
"I did not! I was not going to cry!" he defended himself greatly, which almost got Xena going again, so Gabrielle had to elbow her friend in the ribs to keep her from losing it. The warrior princess shot a 'thanks' look at her friend, who nodded in understanding. "So, what are we going to do now? Go out and do some good with your wishing? You know, we could get us a nice place to stay for the night, you know, free food and drinks, and...," Joxer trailed off as Xena and Gabrielle turned and began to walk away from him. "Hey, you guys! Wait for me!"   
  
  
  
  



End file.
